Refrigerating apparatus



I. POTTER REFRIGERATTNG APPARATUS Filed March 10. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 a'vwen to:

Thomas 1.1075661? $51 G Tom 1e- Patented Apr. 19, 1927.

' UNITED STATES 1,624,972 PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS IRVING POTTER, OF ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGE'OR, BY MES NE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO HYDRO REFRIGERATOR COMPANY, INC., 01 NEW YORK, N. Y., A COR- PORATION OF DELAWARE.

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS.

Application filed March 10, 1923. Serial No. 624,301.

This invention relates to improvements in refrigerating apparatus of the general character disclosed in my copending applications, Serial No. 500,756, filed September 15, 1921, and Serial No. 587,698, filed September 12, 1922. It is of the same general character in that it embodies'tbe compressor condenser expander circuit of refrigeration and utilizes principles of automatic control somewhat similar to those disclosed in my prior applications.

Structurally, my new machine is a great improvement over the others in that it is compact, inexpensive to manufacture, efiicient in operation, and susceptible of household use with the common type of cheap ice box. A specific object of the invention is to provide an unusually cheap and effective condenser, the invention contemplating particularly a. novel type of combined motor compressor and condenser and the invention consisting in certain novel features of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts, as will be more fully hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a view in vertical section through my improved machine,

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail view of the valve mechanism, i

Figure 3 is a transverse section on the line 33 of Figure 2,

Figure 1 is a fragmentary vertical section illustrating a slight modification.

Referring in detail to Figure 1 of the drawings, it will be noted that I have used the reference character to designate a double walled cylindrical tank provided with a cover plate 11 and a base plate 12, the latter being supported upon legs or standards 13. The double walls of the tank provide an annular chamber 15 which encircles the tank proper.

: A vertichlly reciprocable piston rod 16 has sliding bearings in a boss 17 integral with the, cover plate 11 and in the intermediate portion of a U-shaped hanger 18 which depends into the tank from the cover plate.

A flexible diaph1'agm18 has'its edges secured between the bottom of the tank 10 and the base plate 12, said diaphragm co-operating with the base plate which is of general concave shape to provide a pumping chamher having a flexible wall. The intermediate portionpf the diaphragm is clamped between a pair of plates 19, 19 carried by the lower end of the piston rod and the base plate 15 recessed or otlset as. indicated at 20 to accommodate the lower plate 19 upon descent of the piston rod. The piston rod plates 19 and diaphragm 18 co-operate to provide a compressing piston. Suitable intake and exhaust valves 21 and 22 in the base plate communicate through conductors 23, 24 with the expander (not. shown) and the condenser respectively. The chamber 15 serves as the condenser and the pipe 24 delivers into the same adjacent its upper end. Refrigerant flows from the condenser to the expander through a conductor 25 communicating with an outlet port 26 at 'the lower end of the condensing chamber.

Descent of the piston is eifected by water pressure on the diaphragm 18 and elevation thereof accomplished by an expansion spring 27 around the piston 'rod I6 between the intermediate portion of the hanger l8 and a plate 28 fixed to the piston rod.

The cover plate 11 is preferably formed with an integral upstanding flange 29 and the water supply and exhaust of tank 10 is through a cylinder30 cast integral with the flange and cover plate and provided with suitable ports 31, 32 which communicate with exhaust and intake pipes 33, 3st respectively. A piston valve 35 controls the intake and exhaust of water from the tank. Various mechanism might be efficiently utilized for operating this piston valve. It is of course desirable to control the operation thereof from the piston rod 16 in such a manner that the valve will be quickly actuated at the limits of movement of the rod. One eificient means for accomplishing this result is illustrated in the drawings, reference being had particularly to Figures 2 and 3.

The stem 36 of the valve is guided in itsvertical reciprocation by arms 37 projecting laterally from an upstanding bracket 38 secured to an inward extension 39 of the flange 29. A pair of steps 40 on the valve stem between the arms 37 engage with the arms to limit the movement of the stem in both directions. I

Detents are engageable with the stops'40 toretain the stem 36 against premature operation. Means is provided for moving these detents out of detaining positionat each end cal of the piston stroke and for quickly shifting the position of the valve when the stops are released. The detents are in the form of arms 41 pivoted as at 42 to the ends of the arms 37 and extendin in opposite directions. The free ends 0? the detent arms are formed with hooks 43 engageable with the stops and a single contraction spring 44 connecting the intermediate portions of the arms 41 normally urges both detent hooks inwardly into the path of the stops. Means is provided for positively moving the detents to release the stops, such means being in the form of lugs 45 which engage cam faces on the arms 41 to move these arms outwardly against the action of the spring 44. The lugs 45 are integral with collars 46 slidiable upon the stem 36 and guided in their sliding movement by bifurcated extensions 47 which straddle a web 48 formed in the bracket 38. A. coiled expansion spring 49 around the valve stem is interposed between the collars. The means for effecting relative advance of the collars toward each other against the pressure of spring 49 is seen most clearly in Figure 3, where it will be noted that forks 51 are fixed to the piston rod 16, these forks straddling the mechanism just described and carrying adjustable studs 52. Pins 53 project laterally from the collars into the path of the studs. The forks 51 are made fast to threaded portions of the piston red by adjusting nuts 54 and the collar actuating studs 52 are also adjustable so that the valve mechanism may be accurately set to shift the valve at the exact limits of the stroke of the compressing piston.

The upper end of the piston rod and the entire valve mechanism may be concealed and protected from dust and dirt by a dome shape cover 55 removably secured upon the flange 29.

is held in its lower position by the upper detent hook 43, the exhaust port 31 being open. The lower fork 51 has moved the lower collar 46 upwardly acting through the lug 45 to nearly release the detent hook above mentioned. When this hook is released at the end of the upstroke of the pisten, the spring 49 will quickly move the valve stem upwardly, shifting the position of valve 35 and opening the inlet port for motive fiuidunder pressure. At the same time, the lower detent hook will snap under the lower stop and retain the valve stem against operation prior to the time that the descending piston acts through the medium of the upper fork to reverse the above der scribed opcration.

The -oiston operates to exhaust refrigerant low pressure from the expander (low pressure side of the machine) and deliver the same under pressure to the condenser (high pressure side). The flow from the condenser to the expander is preferably floatcontrolled as in my previously identified prior applications. As the temperature of the expander is reduced, the pressure therein will be proportionately reduced to such a point that the difference in pressure upon opposite sides of the diaphragm 18 during the exhaust stroke of the piston will be suffieient to counterbalance and render inoperative the piston actuating spring. Operation of the combined pump and compressor Will be automatically resumed when the pressure difference is varied due to an increase in the temperature of the expander. The broad principle involved in the automatic control feature of this apparatus has been previously described and claimed.

For household installation, the unit illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawings may be set up in the cellar or other convenient; place and the pipes or tubes 23, 25 led to anexpansion tank or evaporator located in the common type of household refrigerator. No attendance on the machine is necessary. The temperature of the ice box will depend upon the strength of the spring 22 as will be readily understood, since it is the action of this spring against which sullicient coun:

terbalancing back pressure must be exerted D5 to stop the refrigerating operation.

Inasmuch as the strength in the spring 27 directly controls the temperature at which refrigeration will be automatically stopped,

I preferably provide some means for ad- 200 justing the pressure of this spring. For the sake of illustration, I haveshown registering openings 70 in the piston rod 16 and in the hub of the plate 28 and a pin 71 which may be selectively passed through said openings to secure the plate ir various positions on the piston rod, thus efi'ecting the desired compressional adjustment: of the spring 27. In Figure 2 of the drawings, the valve 35' Figure 4 illustrates a slight modification wherein improved means is provided for at taching the diaphragm to the piston rod and for insuring a thorough expulsion of refrigerant from the pumping chamber upon each descent of the piston.

In this View, the piston rod is indicated at 60, the diaphragm-M201 and the double walled tank 62 is provided with a base plate (33 having the usual intake and exhaust valves 64, 65 mounted therein. The base plate 65-1 is; of concave shape prcsentin a substantially uninterrupted interior suriface and the block or plate 66 secured to the lower end of the piston rod is shaped to snugly fit against this surface.

Diaphragm (31 is formed of laminated flcxible material and one or more of the upper layers are cut away at the center to provide a flap 67 which overlaps and is secured to the upper face of the block 66. This construction avoids the necessity for using two blocks or plates and at the same time obviates the danger or moisture leaking trom the tank into the pumping chamber through the diaslight inodiiications might be made in the general form and arrangement of the parts described without departing from the invention, and hence I do not wish to limit myself to the details set forth but shall consider myself at'liberty to make such slight changes and alterations as Vteirly fall within the spirit and scope oi the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A motor compressor condenser unit including a container having double side walls to form an annular condenser chamber and a combined cooling and motor chamber within the condenser chamber, a flexible walled compressingchambe'r at the bottom of the web ing chamber and means for introducing cool motive fluid into the cooling chamber to compress fluid in the compression chamber :Tind cool fluid in the condenser chamber.

2. A motor compressor condenser unit including e tcnlr, e.- tlexible diaphragm extending across the same adjacent its lower end and cooperating with the bottom of the tank to provide a flexible walled pumping and compressing chamber, said chamber having outlet and inlet ports therein, a piston rod connected to the diaphragm, means for 1n- 'troducing fluid under pressure in the tank to depress said diaphragm and pull said piston rod downwardly, a spring acting to return said rod and lift said diaphragm when such pressure is relieved, said tank being formed with-double side walls to provide an annular condenser chamber and means for introducing compressed tiuid from the compressor chamber to the condenser chemher.

n 1. 3 v s I A. motor compressor condenser unit comprising tank having double wells spaced epert to provide it condenser chamber ing the and a motor chamber within the condenser chamber, a diaphragm in the tank forming the bottom of the motor chamber and co-operating with the bottom of the tank to form an expensible compressing chamber, a piston rod, a hanger depending from the top of the tank and guiding the movement of the piston rod, a coil spring around the rod between the hanger and the tank cover, normally urging the rod in one direction, means connectpiston rod and diaphragm and means adapted to connect the compressor chamber with the condenser chamber 4. A motor com ressor condenser unit including a container formed with a motor chamber, a condenser chamber encircling the motor chamber and a compressor chamber at one end of the motor chamber, a flexible diaphragm separating the motor chamber from the compressor chamber, the container being formed with a passage connecting the compressor chamber with the condenser chamber, and means for admitting cool m0- tive fluid under pressure into the motor chamber to compress and expel vapor from the compressor chamber into the condenser chamber and cool said vapor in the condenser chamber. 5. A-motor compressor condenser unit including a container formed with a motor' cylinder, a pumping chamber and an annular condenser surrounding the motor cylinder,

a diaphragm piston in the container sepa rating the motor cylinder from the pumping chamber end'means for alternately admit" ting an exhausting motive fluid into and from the motor cylinder to pump vapor into the condenservend to carry ,otl' heat from the vepor after it enters the condenser chamber.

6. In a motor compressor condenser unit comprising a hydraulic motor a compressor actuated thereby, and e condemer surrounding the motor and separated therefrom by a heatconducting wall.

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